singles for week beginning 9th july - arctic monkeys, bloc party, THE envy corp, THE hours and more

. YOURCODENAMEIS: MILO / I’M IMPRESSED (V2) In attempting to review a song you should always give it a fair crack of the whip before passing judgement. However, if you happen to notice a clear sense of claustrophobia creeping up on you the more times you hear it, there comes a time when you should just get it over and done with. With an annoying riff and an awkward, jarring rhythm, I never want to go near this particular iron lung of a tune again. . THE ENVY CORPS / WIRES AND WOOL (MERCURY) The Envy Corps – Wires And Wool (Mercury Records) Luke Pettipoole begins this song sounding like Thom Yorke on horse tranquilisers. And given that he hasn’t thought to swap his rather quaint surname for something more evocative of the “let’s fucking ‘ave it” school of rock music, this low-key beginning shouldn’t be too surprising. However, after a few seconds he remembers that he does have a pulse after all, and ‘Wires And Wool’ kicks into action nicely, albeit in a way that will please Doves fans. A promising and catchy single. . BLOC PARTY / HUNTING FOR WITCHES (WICHITA) If Johnny Borrell thinks ‘America’ is a political statement, that tune is but a pimple on David Cameron’s pink, poncey nose compared to the full-blown manifesto contained in Kele Okereke’s lyrics. Slagging off the Daily Mail and taking issue with the right-wing media’s knee-jerk reaction whenever terrorists decide to let ‘bombs explode on the 30 bus’ certainly makes for the most relevant of themes for a single today, if not the most exciting. Thankfully, Bloc Party have not forgetten to put some actual music in alongside their liberal protests. The cool angular guitar lines should please scenesters of all political persuasions. . THE ELECTRIC SOFT PARADE / MISUNDERSTANDING (TRUCK) “Electric Soft Parade make pleasant, dreamy single” would never make a newspaper headline - because it’s bleedin’ obvious that these Teenage Fanclub acolytes are going to make something pleasant and dreamy. But if you want something nice to doze to on a summer afternoon, at least you know who to turn to. . THE HOURS / ALI THE THE JUNGLE (EMI) The Rolling Stones showed with ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ that, with a little thought, throwing some historical imagery into your lyrics can make for some extraordinary songwriting. With ‘Ali In The Jungle’, The Hours show it can also make for the musical equivalent of coming down to breakfast to find that during the night your cat has left a putrid pool of piss on your best rug. Ostensibly an ode to getting back on your feet after being knocked down, this song culminates in the most inexcusably awful line of the year: ‘Ludwig van, how I loved that man / Well the guy went deaf and didn’t give a damn’. Unlike Mick Jagger, lead singer Antony Genn isn’t claiming he’s the devil, but surely only Beelzebub would wish to inflict this upon our ears. . ZICO CHAINS / ANAEMIA (HASSLE RECORDS) All hustle and bustle grunge-by-numbers this one, built on rather more brawn than brain. Despite its name, there’s plenty of red-blooded riffage behind this track, so give it a go if that’s your bag. If not, well, it’s your time, so spend it as you please. Class dismissed.